Sponsored by:
Duke University Center for European Studies
Duke University School of Law
Center for International & Comparative Law

In today’s world, the right to privacy has come under immense pressure. Thanks to the terrific capabilities of modern technology, electronic data on our personal lives is gathered, stored, and shared on a scale that was unimaginable even a decade ago. The imperatives of national security have led governments across the world to call for more personal data to be collected directly by public authorities or to be siphoned from private corporations engaged in data processing for their own business purposes.

Notwithstanding these developments both European and American law is designed to safeguard privacy. To be sure, the law of privacy in the United States and Europe can differ dramatically. Yet both communities seek to protect their members from intrusive observation by others. Without such safeguards, individual autonomy and liberal democracy are unthinkable.

This day-long conference will bring together leading legal scholars, privacy professionals, and government officials from Europe and the United States to discuss the future of data privacy in light of these new realties. What are the differences in the legal safeguards for data privacy in the United States and Europe? How successful have the two systems been in mediating between legitimate demands for personal data and the right to privacy? What are the prospects for transatlantic cooperation on data privacy? And, ultimately, will the liberal commitment to privacy survive the radical technical and political transformations occurring in contemporary society?